


the first death of the boy detective

by fantalaimon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Feels, Gen, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 19:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9781019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantalaimon/pseuds/fantalaimon
Summary: Almost everyone that Kravitz had ever met, he’d met on their worst day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just sort of ended up with this fic somehow, so I'm dropping into the TAZ fandom for a minute to post it. Thanks for tolerating me.

Almost everyone that Kravitz had ever met, he’d met on their worst day.

There were some exceptions, and each one of those tended to be stranger than the last, but usually people’s introductions to Kravitz came at… a difficult point in their existence. That could mean different things for different souls, but it rarely meant a good time for Kravitz.

Children were the worst. Kravitz _liked_ children. If it were up to him, he’d never have to see them.

This particular child was holding himself together admirably well. Most his age were having a conniption when they encountered Kravitz, but this one seemed determined to hold back his tears. He wasn’t quite succeeding, but it was more than many adults even managed.

“Hello,” Kravitz said, kneeling down so he was closer to eye level with the boy. Kravitz didn’t have the most comforting eyes, to be sure--them being a glowing blood red, and all--but it still seemed the most human thing to do.

“H-hello, sir,” the child said. He stumbled over the words somewhat, voice shaking and a bit squeaky, but he was coherent. That was a good sign.

Kravitz smiled. He had it on good authority that his smile, at least, was very charming. “Could you tell me your name, dear?”

“My name is Angus.” The boy wiped at his eyes, quickly, like he was hoping that if he did it fast enough Kravitz wouldn’t notice he was crying. “Angus McDonald.”

Kravitz summoned The Book and flipped to the end of the M section. Sure enough, the name _Angus McDonald_ was written at the bottom in a childish scrawl, along with the day’s date.

“What is that, sir?”

Kravitz looked up. Angus’s eyes were still wet, but there was a spark of curiosity behind them.

“An appointment book, of sorts,” Kravits said, turning The Book to let Angus see. His eyes widened, no doubt as he recognized his own handwriting. “It lets me know that you’re supposed to be here, and then I just need to sign you in.”

“Is my grandpa in here?” Angus asked, reaching toward The Book like he was going to grab it up and start rifling through the pages right then, but he seemed to remember himself and snatched his hand back at the last second. He looked up at Kravitz. “My grandpa is dead. Is he in your book?”

“I would expect so,” Kravitz said. “We can look him up, if you’d like.”

Angus’s expression brightened, but then he seemed to wilt. “I don’t know his name.”

“O-kay,” Kravitz said. That seemed a little odd, but he really couldn’t pretend to ever understand mortals these days. “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to look for him.”

Angus perked up again. “Oh, yes! I’m good at finding people. And things. And clues! I’m the world’s greatest detective.”

“That’s very impressive, Angus,” Kravitz said. “I’m sure you’ll find your grandfather in no time.”

Angus nodded, eyes drifting back to The Book.

Kravitz watched Angus, waiting for some hint of what he wanted. Angus just stared at The Book, frowning.

“Was there someone else you wanted to check on?” Kravitz prodded gently, when it seemed Angus was just going to carry on staring forever.

“Oh! I’m sorry, sir. It’s just, I was wondering if my friends are in here?”

“Your friends?” Kravitz asked, trying to remember all the children who had been through in the last few years.

“Yes, my friends. They’re alive right now, but they die a lot. Or they seem to. Maybe I just think that because everyone else I know has only done it the once.”

Kravitz could only stare dumbly at Angus, mouth open in shock.

“Um, could we look?” Angus asked, gesture to The Book. “It’s okay if it’s too much trouble, but I thought it might be nice, if I have to stay here now. Kind of like saying goodbye. But if it’s too much trouble I understand. I don’t want to trouble you, sir. I’m sure you’re very busy. Maybe we can just look up one of them? They’re always together anyway. If you could just check for one name for me, maybe, it would be under T--”

Kravitz felt his shoulders slump as sheer, crushing misery overcame him.

“--his name is Taako Taaco, he’s a wizard--”

Kravitz buried his head in The Book and moaned. The Book was unmoved by his display.

“...or not,” Angus said. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I asked.”

He was a little boy. It wasn’t his fault. Kravitz needed to be a grown up now.

Kravitz really didn’t feel like being a grown up now.

Angus did look terribly alarmed, though.

“Don’t apologize, dear,” Kravitz sighed. “ _You_ haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Okay,” Angus said, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

He was so small. Kravitz hated everything about this situation.

“I really am good at this job,” Kravitz insisted, more to the void in general than Angus himself. “Before him, I was practically perfect.”

“I believe you, sir,” Angus said, still sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

Kravitz sighed. “You don’t have to call me sir. My name is Kravitz.”

“That’s funny,” Angus said, laughing a little. “Taako’s boyfriend’s name is Kravitz too.”

“Did you just say boyfriend?” Kravitz asked, mind snapping to attention. “Did _Taako_ say boyfriend, or is that your word?”

Angus crossed his arms, scowling mulishly. “Why does that matter? Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, I don’t--well, I mean, I don’t know, I’m Death, I don’t know what the pace of these things is meant to be. I don’t know what’s too fast or too slow, and he’s not exactly the best at sharing--oh, wait.” Kravitz pinched the bridge of his fleshed out form’s nose. “I see what you meant.”

“You’re a little bit strange, sir.”

“Yes, I think so too,” Kravitz sighed, and wrote _reschedule_ next to Angus’s name before adding his initials and banishing The Book with a thought. Then he stood.

Angus was watching him. The tears seem poised to make a comeback any second now.

“Come on,” Kravitz said, extending one hand to the little boy and waving open a rift with the other. “I’ll take you home.”

*

The scene they entered onto was… not a pleasant one.

And Angus… Angus was most definitely dead, and his corpse reflected that. It was far from the most gruesome set of remains Kravitz had ever seen, but it wasn’t exactly something a child should _have_ to see. Instinctively, he covered Angus’s eyes with one hand.

“I’ve seen dead bodies before, sir,” Angus said, trying to push Kravtiz’s hand away. “I’m the world’s greatest detective, after all! You don’t have to treat me like a baby.”

Kravitz’s hand stayed where it was. He was pretty sure he would have wanted someone to cover his eyes, if it were him.

Aside from Angus, there were four people present: the three expected ones and an older woman that Kravitz had never met but knew well enough by reputation. She had her hand over her mouth as she looked down at Angus’s body. At her feet, Magnus was crying openly, the right hand of Angus’s corpse clasped between both of his. Merle was huddled across from Magnus, head buried in his arms

Taako was seated with Angus’s head cradled in his lap. He was perfectly still, his expression blank, eyes glassy and unfocused. There were streaks of dried blood on his face and hands.

They all turned to look at the crackling of the rift, each in their own time. Lucretia’s eyes turned to Kravitz almost immediately, then Merle looked up, and then Magnus seemingly forced himself to follow suit. Taako was the last to drag his eyes from Angus’s body, but the first to speak.

“Now’s not a great time, babe,” he said. There was no inflection to his voice. He sounded defeated.

At least that proved Kravitz had made the right choice, even if it devastated him to hear it.

“I’m sure it’s not,” Kravitz said, carefully stepping closer and towing Angus’s ghost (invisible, of course, to his living friends) along beside him. “But, unfortunately, it’s the best I can do.”

“Will you let please let me look now, sir?” Angus asked, wriggling a little. Kravitz kept his arm locked firmly around Angus’s head as he surveyed the boy’s physical form. It probably looked strange, but no one seemed to be at their most observant just then.

“That really isn’t going to work,” Kravitz said, eyeing the still-bloodied corpse. If he dropped Angus’s spirit back into that, it’d just end up booted right back to the ethereal plane. “Your cleric _can_ do healing spells, can’t he?”

“Sure I can,” Merle said, flushing red. “But he’s _dead_. There’s no coming back from that.”

“That’s ironic, coming from you,” Kravitz said.

“Now isn’t the _time_ ,” Magnus said, fist slamming against the ground. “If you’ve waited this long to collect your bounty on us, you can wait a little longer. We just lost someone we care about. Have you ever cared about anyone?”

“Of course,” Kravitz said. His eyes went to Taako, who was still watching Kravitz with that lost expression. “Why else would I be doing this?”

Some of the light came back to Taako’s eyes, and his eyebrows shot upward.

“I’m sorry,” Lucretia cut in, holding up her hands. “I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing here, but I strongly suggest you leave. Immediately.”

“No, wait, wait,” Taako said, and then he leaned over to grab Merle by the shoulder. “Merle, you need to heal Angus.”

“I _just said_ it won’t do any good. The kid’s already gone.”

“Yeah, well, perks of dating the grim reaper, homie! Death ain’t shit.”

“Hey,” Kravitz said, frowning.

“Lowercase D death,” Taako amended, reaching up to pat Kravitz’s arm. “Capital D Death is _the_ shit.”

“Hold on,” Magnus said. “You mean _you’re_ dating--”

The ghost of Angus whined and flapped his hands. “What’s going _on_?”

“I think it’s time for a _Zone of Truth_ ,” Merle declared loudly, and Taako slapped him upside the head.

“The next spell you cast had better be to heal Angus, or so help me, I will magic missile your wrinkly dwarven ass.”

“Fine, fine,” Merle said, tugging on his beard. “What do you want then, _Cure Wounds?_ ”

“Why are you asking me? You’re the cleric!”

Merle and Taako glared at each other for a full five seconds. Kravitz was starting to see how their death tally was so high.

“I’m gonna cast _Cure Wounds_ ,” Merle announced.

Taako rolled his eyes. “Fucking fantastic.”

Merle closed his eyes and placed a hand on Angus’s chest. Gradually, the larger injuries began to fade away, leaving the body in passable condition--though still far from perfect.

“Alright,” Kravitz said, dropping his arm to spirit-Angus’s shoulder to let the child see. “I think we’re good.”

“Wow,” Angus said. “I don’t look so good, huh?”

Kravitz ruffled his hair. “On the upside, Taako will probably make you lots of soup.”

“Taako’s making soup?” Magnus asked, managing to sound excited and miserable at the same time.

“I never agreed to this!”

“Go on,” Kravitz said, nudging Angus gently towards his body. “It’s better than the alternative, right?”

Lucretia frowned. “Is someone planning to explain just what’s going on here? How do you boys know this man, and why is he talking to himself?”

“Thank you for your help, sir,” Angus said, looking up at Kravitz with wide, earnest eyes, before swallowing once and diving for his body. There was a blur and a burst of light, visible only to Kravitz, and then Angus McDonald, in body and spirit, opened his eyes. “Ouch.”

“For the record,” Taako said, shoving Angus out of his lap, “I didn’t care that you were dead one bit.”

Merle nodded emphatically. “I was glad, actually.”

“You are terrible people,” Lucretia said, as she dropped to her knees to scoop Angus up into a hug.

Kravitz was so preoccupied watching them that he was taken utterly by surprise when he found himself receiving the same treatment.

“Thank you,” Magnus said, squeezing his arms tightly around Kravitz. “Also, you’re really cold.”

“Hey, hey, hands off,” Taako said, coming up to elbow himself in between them. “Get your own iceberg.”

“Right, well.” Kravitz cleared his throat and stepped back to extract himself from the wild tangle of limbs that the hug was rapidly becoming. “I guess I’d better be going.”

“I mean, _or_ you could stay here and the two of us could hang out,” Taako offered lightly.

“...or I could stay here and the two of us could hang out.”

Taako took Kravitz’s arm, grinning. “Great idea.”

*

“You brought someone back to _life_ for me,” Taako said, once they were alone. “That is so--”

Kravitz leaned down and kissed him, long and soft and as tenderly as he could manage. Taako fell into it easily, arms winding around around Kravitz’s neck.

When they pulled apart, Taako blinked. “ _So_ gay.”

“Did you tell Angus I was your boyfriend?”

Taako blinked again, then scowled. “I’m going to re-kill him.”

“ _Am_ I your boyfriend?” Kravitz pressed.

Taako groaned.

“Why haven’t you ever talked to me about Angus before now? He’s practically your son, isn’t he?”

Taako groaned louder.

“Taako,” Kravitz said, taking the elf’s face between his hands so that he could more easily look into his eyes. “I can’t even imagine how awful this day has been for you. Are you alright?”

Taako blinked again, then again, and then his eyes started to shine with tears. 

“Yeah,” he said, voice cracking. “I’m awesome.”

Kravitz offered a half smile and pulled Taako against his chest. “I know you are, love.”


End file.
